Theatre review: Microcosm

Up-and-coming playwright Matt Hartley takes us to a hot, stuffy summer in a desirable part of London in Microcosm. At least, the area seems desirable when Alex (Philip McGinley) and his girlfriend Clare (Jenny Rainsford) move in, money left in his grandmother's will having meant Alex could afford somewhere nicer than a young couple might otherwise expect. But the suburban dream doesn't last long, and as well as an overly friendly neighbour who won't leave him alone, Alex is soon making enemies of a local gang of teenagers: Coming from a small town, it's not in his nature to stand by and ignore problems, so when one of the kids speeds on his motorbike down the residential road he confronts him - and finds himself targeted by a gang throwing bricks through his windows and posting turds in his letterbox.

Theatre review: The Great Gatsby (Wilton's Music Hall)

PREVIEW DISCLAIMER: This review is of the final preview performance. Not that it matters what I or any of the "real" critics think - the whole run's already sold out.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is back in fashion at the moment, with a film on the way, and at least three stage versions coming to London. This resurgence in popularity is entirely down to artistic reasons, namely that the book's just come into the public domain so producers don't need to pay royalties to stage it. For similar highbrow reasons, when choosing which version to see I went for the one that doesn't run for eight hours, Peter Joucla's adaptation at Wilton's Music Hall. Nick (Nick Chambers) moves into a small Long Island house, next to the mansion of the mysterious Gatsby (Michael Malarkey.) The latter holds parties every weekend in the hope of attracting his lost love Daisy (Kirsty Besterman) who lives nearby; but the source of his wealth seems a bit shady.